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Hearty greetings from the Rainbow Dragon to all visitors to my digital kitchen in the blogosphere!

As my blog title suggests, these pages contain a wild mix of recipes which sample a wide range of flavours and cultures. I won't even try to apply an over-arching theme to this project other than to say that every dish is about creating good food!

The Polyphagous Dragon offers multiple options for site navigation in the sidebar panels. Use the Contents box to search for recipes by dish type, the Blog Archives to search for a specific recipe by title or the Ingredients Index to pull up all recipes that feature a particular ingredient. See also my Cooking Philosophy notes for further insights.

Wassail!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Cauliflower Dum

This dish is hearty enough to serve as a main entrée with rice. It also works well as a side dish. Because the last 20 minutes of cooking are an untended steaming in the oven, cauliflower dum makes an excellent accompaniment to dishes which require more hands-on finishing touches.

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 garlic

1 inch piece ginger root

1 yellow onion

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon freshly ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 hot peppers (chilies or jalapeños)

1 cup water

Directions:

Remove cauliflower leaves and tough core.Cut cauliflower into large florets.Mince garlic, ginger, onion and hot peppers.Preheat oven to 350°F.Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan.Add the cauliflower and stirfry until the florets are lightly browned on all sides.Remove the cauliflower from the pan and set aside.Add the cumin seeds to the hot pan.As soon as the seeds start to splutter, add the garlic and ginger stirfry briefly.Add the onions and continue cooking until they are soft and light brown.Add the tomatoes, coriander, garam masala, cayenne and turmeric. Stir to blend in.Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until oil rises to the top.Add the hot peppers and cook for a further 2 or 3 minutes.Add the water, mix in well, increase heat and bring to a boil.Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.Add the cauliflower to the pan and stir until it is well coated in the sauce.Transfer contents of frying pan to a Dutch oven or large casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid.Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.Serve hot.